Can you imagine what the world would be like with no writing? It would be like a world without air for people to breathe. Nobody would be able to use their creativity. I wouldn’t know as much as I know today. I wouldn’t know about all of my writing skills that I have learned throughout my school life. There would be no such thing as an author! I know many people that want to be an author when they grow up but if there was no such thing as writing no one would even know what an author is. Being a writer allows you to use creativity and make up your own stories in your mind. Without writing the world would be totally different. There would be no such thing as movies, books, and many more.
I am very proud of all of my writing pieces from this year. Although I like all of them one of them stands out to me the most. My favorite writing piece was my fiction piece. I loved my topic, and the story touched my heart very strongly. I also learned a lot while I was creating this piece.
I have learned many skills throughout my year of being a sixth grader. While I was writing my fiction piece, Mrs. Bubalis taught me and my classmates many new skills that we haven’t learned yet. She taught us ways to create a character for your story. For example, she told us that it is easier if you create their internal and external traits. She also told us to create and describe the way that a character moves to make the story more interesting. She told us to write a very detailed setting and use sentence variety. Mrs. B explained to us that for sentence variety you can replace said with stronger words, use sentences that start with an –ing word, and many others. She taught us that one of the most important things for a fantastic piece is to make sure that you edit and revise your writing. She also gave us a new way to plan out our stories. They are called story maps. It includes the information that will be in your story. For instance, it included your character’s hopes, wants, or desires, an obstacle that was standing in their way from following their dreams, to build the story problem by problem, a climax, and a resolution to end the story. I also learned from her that it is good to have a lot of conversation in your writing piece. Another skill that I learned during sixth grade is to write from small moment to small moment. Mrs. B calls this writing a “small seed” instead of a “big watermelon story”.
Mrs. Bubalis was an amazing teacher. She taught me many things that I will never forget. I am also lucky to have learned all of this information from her because it will be helpful to know for my first year of being out of elementary school. I truthfully think that I am a great writer and I love to write. I plan to be writing stories throughout my school life and after also.
Here is my favorite project that I did in language arts this year....
The Dream
By: Melanie Ward
“Mom, Tommy is annoying me again!” Nicole yelled from her bedroom. “Tommy, stop annoying your sister!” she screamed back. Nicole was only fourteen years old and the second oldest out of ten children in her family. She has six brothers and three sisters. Her sisters, Lilly and Brooke, are twins and they are both six years old. Her other sister is named Ashley and she is eight years old. Her brother Jack is three, Evan is five, Tommy is nine, Jake is ten, Peter is twelve, and Kevin is already twenty-one, and married. They all lived in a very small house in New York City and were struggling financially. Since Kevin was married he lived in his own house with his wife and their baby daughter, just up the road from them. Because they have a descent amount of money, they try to help out as the family as much as they can. Running quickly up to her bedroom to get ready for the day, Nicole’s hair flew back exposing her beautiful face. She shut and locked her purple decorated door and walked into the room. She loved the feeling of her fluffy carpet on her feet and the joy of the room. Her room had bright lime green walls covered in pictures of her with her friends. Although Nicole was popular in school, no one knew what she was going through, and she was afraid of telling them because it embarrassed her. She loved to go to school because when she was hanging out with her friends all of her troubles went away, her mind got cleared, and she felt like she was living a perfect life. She went to her closet and took out a pair of skinny-jeans that were ripped on each knee, and a blue t-shirt. She threw on a pair of blue and pink polka-dotted socks, then a pair of old zebra sneakers. Then Nicole unlocked, and opened the door, then ran into the kitchen for some breakfast. She grabbed some cereal out of one of the kitchen cabinets, and a bowl to put the cereal in. She walked over to the fridge and grabbed a carton of milk and poured it into the bowl until it was halfway filled. Nicole then put some of the cereal in and realized she needed a spoon. They needed to use plastic utensils for eating because they couldn’t afford any others. She took a plastic spoon out of the bag and started eating. She ate quickly because she wanted to visit Kevin’s house. Nicole didn’t finish all of her cereal but she ate enough so that she didn’t waste any of the food. Nicole dropped the bowl into the sink, and went back to getting ready. Walking into the bathroom, she grabbed her toothbrush and threw some toothpaste on it. Nicole thoroughly brushed her teeth until they were squeaky clean. Nicole then walked out of the bathroom and back to her bedroom, and grabbed a brush from a basket on her floor with all of her hair supplies. She brushed her long, curly brown hair until it was perfect. When she was all ready she ran out the door without a goodbye. It only took about five minutes to get to Kevin’s house. As she walked to his house on the sidewalks, she loved to look at the bright lights on the buildings and signs. They made her happier, because they reminded her of “bright” futures. When she finally arrived at Kevin’s house she ran up the steps to his door, and barged in without a knock. His house was always perfectly clean because his wife, Jamie was now a stay at home mom. Their baby girl, Amy, was only three months old. Since she was so young she would mostly sleep, which gave Jamie lots of time to get stuff done around the house. Kevin was a doctor, which meant he got paid lots of money. This is how they helped Nicole’s family and had enough money for themselves also. “Where’s Kevin,” Nicole asked Jamie as she looked around the house. “He went to the store to pick up some groceries,” Jamie replied. “Oh, okay.” Nicole said. “Why do you need him?” Jamie questioned. “I need to tell him something really important,” Nicole answered. “Alright,” Jamie said. Jamie was a very nice woman with straight brown hair that sat perfectly on her shoulders. Kevin finally got home from the store with tons of bags in his hands. He walked into the kitchen and put the bags on the counter. Jamie walked into the kitchen and put everything away. When he walked out of the kitchen the first thing he saw was Nicole with a worried look on her face. It scared him. His heart drooped and a drip of sweat poured down his face. He was worried that something bad had happened to someone in the family or someone that he was very close to. “What’s wrong,” Kevin asked her. “I need you to get me somewhere, a place where dreams come true. Somewhere I’ve never been before, somewhere I should’ve already gone to. The problem is that I’m not allowed to be there even though I need to be there,” Nicole told him very quietly. “What are you talking about Nicole,” He got so frightened that he started to yell. “I want….I need to win The Voice! It will save our family, and I know I can do it. It will prove to mom that it isn’t a waste of time and I can follow my dreams,” She started to cry a bit but held it in as much as she could. “Alright, I’ll help you,” Kevin gave her a big hug. Nicole’s mom always knew that she was an amazing singer. She was afraid to tell her because she thought it was a waste of time. She figured she would never be able to compete against adults with matured voices, and thought that Nicole wasn’t ready. Her mom knew she couldn’t win……..or at least that’s what she thought. Nicole practiced singing everyday just so that she could achieve her goals, and so that her dreams would come true. She practiced old songs, new song, songs with high pitches, and songs with low pitches. She could sing anything perfectly. “Jamie,” Kevin yelled as his voice cracked a bit. “What,” she called back with her sweet voice that sounded like a graceful, singing bird. “We’re going on a road trip! We are going to take Nicole to Hollywood so she can audition for The Voice,” he shouted with excitement. “Really, that is so exciting. I know that you’re going to do great, and you’re such an amazing singer. You’re going to be a star, and I know it,” Jamie told her with a smile as bright as the sun. Jamie and Kevin packed their bags with everything they would need for the trip. They packed clothes, food, drinks, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. “Alright, we’re done packing. Now let’s go to Hollywood,” Kevin said. “Wait, what about me? I still need to pack stuff for myself,” Nicole stammered. “Oh yea, I’ll drop you off at home really quickly and we’ll wait in the car. Jamie can go get the baby and we’ll drop her off at the neighbor’s house. Just call them up real quick, and we will be ready to go,” Kevin suggested. “Okay, thanks,” Nicole started to get more and more excited. She slowly opened the door and waited for them to get their bags. She held the door open for them and waited until they were a little bit past the door. She quickly closed the door, ready to go and sing. They put their bags in the trunk of their perfectly cleaned silver car with leather seats inside. Kevin sat in the driver’s seat, Jamie sat in the passenger side, and Nicole sat in the back of the car next to the baby. They drove a little bit, and then Jamie got out of the car to get the baby out of the car. She took Taylor out of her car seat, and brought her inside. She handed the baby over to the nice lady in the house and some baby food for her. Jamie came back outside and got back into the car. They drove to Nicole’s house to pick up her stuff. They pulled over on the opposite side of the road so it would be harder for her mom to see them. Nicole hopped out of the car, looked both ways, and crossed the street. She ran straight up the stairs, opened the door, and strolled through the house and into her room. She crept over to her closet and took out an enormous duffle bag. She took all of her clothes out of her closet and drawers, because she didn’t know how long she would be gone. She stuffed all of the clothes into her bag, and then ran into the bathroom. She took her toothbrush and some toothpaste, and then went back into her room to pack it into her bag. Nicole grabbed her hairbrush and put it in the side pocket of the bag. Nicole decided to write a letter to her mom so that she wouldn’t get too worried about her. She tore a piece of paper out of a notebook, and got a pen from her desk. She wrote……….. “Dear mom, I’m going to be gone for a while. Kevin and Jamie will be with me so don’t worry. They’re going to take me to Hollywood so that I can audition for The Voice…since you won’t. Just remember not to be concerned about me, because Jamie and Kevin will take good care of me. Love, Nicole” Tears started to fall down her face as she was writing and she tried to hold it, but she just couldn’t. She threw her bag over her shoulder, ran out the door, and jumped into the car. “You ready sis?” Kevin asked her. ‘I think so? I’m so excited, and I knew that this day would come eventually, but I just didn’t know that it would come so soon,” Nicole started bouncing up and down in her seat with a big grin on her face. “Alright, let’s go then,” everyone became more and more excited. They drove out of New York City slowly so that they could say good-bye to their dwelling. On their way to Hollywood they got to see things that they couldn’t see in New York. They were surprised to see vast backyards with tons of grass and trees. There weren’t heaps of taxicabs rushing down the street, or garbage thrown all over the place. Nicole wished that she could live in a place like this, and not in the city. She loved how everyone was so caring and families didn’t have to be so cautious about their children. On their way they took a couple of stops at places such as Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts for a quick snack or bathroom break. They were almost there and could see the building with the hand making a peace sign while holding a microphone. Nicole could just imagine in her head singing on that stage while seeing Christina, Blake, Cee-lo, and Adam turning their chairs around for her. She already knew who she wanted as a coach. She wanted Adam to be the first to turn his chair and she would pick him in a heart-beat. They finally arrived and there was a huge line to enter. At last, it was time for her to sign up and go inside. When she got in the building she saw lights all over and the carpet was red and black to match the furniture. Nicole was up next and was waiting outside the door back-stage. Jamie and Kevin were in another room with TVs to watch her perform. Once it was time for her to go and she began to get anxious. One of the people on the camera crew handed her a microphone, opened the door, and told her that it was time for her to go. “Good luck.” the lady said. “Thanks.” this made Nicole just a little less nervous. She walked out onto the stage, and saw the backs of the chairs. The music started, and a smile grew on Nicole’s face. She sang beautifully, with the perfect pitches. First Cee-lo turned his chair, and Nicole began to chuckle because of his funny sunglasses. Then Christina turned her chair, with her gorgeous blonde hair, striking outfit, and stunning shoes. Next, Blake turned his chair, and he seemed confused at why Adam didn’t turn his chair. Nicole got a bit sad when Adam was the only one that didn’t have their chair turned. She held out her last note of the song for as long as she could, hoping it would allow Adam to have more time to think about turning his chair or not. Just before he finished, her pressed his button and turned his chair. She looked over at him and saw his face with a big smirk on it. She got so excited, and when she finished everyone stood up and started clapping for her. “Wow!” Blake screamed with enthusiasm. “You’re an amazing singer!” “Thanks,” Nicole began to laugh with pleasure. “Yeah you are really good and especially for a girl at such a young age.” Christina thought. “Yeah my little sweet cheeks, how old are you my little super-star,” Cee-lo couldn’t take the smile off of his face. “I’m fourteen years old.” Nicole told them. “Oh man! The show is over, because we already have a winner.” Adam couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of him. “Oh Adam, don’t try to sweeten her up with your little tricks,” Blake seemed like he was getting scared that she was going to pick Adam. “No, I’m serious. I mean, just look at her. She sang with perfect pitches, she rocked the stage, and she pumped up the crowd. She’s already a star.” Adam said in a satisfied voice. “Alright guys, stop fighting, who are you going to pick as your coach sweetie,” Christina got annoyed at the other judges. “Well, first I want to say thank you for turning all of your chairs, and giving me the opportunity to do this. I never knew that I was that good of a singer, but I’m going to have to go with Adam.” “Yes!” Adam screamed with thrill. Adam walked up onto the stage and hugged Nicole. “Thank you so much for picking me, you definitely won’t regret it.” Adam explained to her. “Ok,” She said with exhilaration. She walked off stage, and when she opened the door, the first thing she saw was Jamie and Kevin. They had big smiles on their faces and were crying with tears of joy. “I knew you could do it Nicole.” Kevin explained to her. “Yeah, we had total faith in you.” Jamie told her. “I know, but I’m just so happy that I can’t even think. There’s still just one little problem though.” Nicole said to Kevin. “What is it?” Kevin questioned. “How are we going to break the news to mom?” Nicole asked him. “I have no idea, but no matter what, I know she’ll be proud of you,” Kevin replied. “Thanks,” Nicole gave him a hug. While Nicole was hugging Kevin, his phone started to ring. Who could that be, Nicole thought to herself. Nicole walked slowly away from Kevin as he took his phone out of his pocket. He looked at his phone to see who was calling him. “Its mom,” Kevin got a bit nervous. “Well answer it and see what she says,” Nicole yelled at him. “Hello,” he said with a crack in his anxious voice. “Hi. I’m at my friend, Brenda’s house right now and we were watching The Voice because it’s her favorite show. I also saw the note before I left, but I thought that that was just a joke. Tell Nicole that I’m not mad at her at all, and that I’m really proud of her. Just make sure that you and Jamie take good care of her, and help her practice every day. You did a pretty good job Kevin, I raised a good family.” Nicole’s mom said with a soft tone to her voice. “What did she say? Is she mad or is she proud?” Nicole shouted. “She wanted me to tell you that she isn’t mad one bit and she’s really proud of you. You did a good job sis.” Kevin had a smile on his face and just couldn’t get it off. “Oh my god, I can’t believe it, mom is actually proud of me! I could’ve sworn she was going to ground me and make me drop out of the show. Thanks Kevin and Jamie, you guys just changed my whole life but in a good way.” Nicole gave them both a big hug. “No problem, now let’s go find a hotel for us to stay in.” Jamie said as they all went to leave. They all got in the car, and Jamie took her laptop out to look for hotels that were in their area. There was so many to choose from, but since Nicole just won they wanted to pick the one that she would like the most. They finally agreed on one with a big indoor pool and hot tub for them to relax in. The hotel was only about five minutes away from The Voice building. This was a good advantage to where they were living at on this amazing journey. They pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, got out of the car, and took all of their stuff out of the trunk of the car. Nicole had one big bag with all of her clothes and supplies, but Jamie and Kevin had about three bags each. This was because they had to take all of the food, soap, extra toothpaste, and much more. They went into the hotel and checked into one of the rooms, they had room number seventy-five, on the third floor. They each got their own key to the room, and walked through a hallway to the elevator. They hit the arrow pointing upward because they needed to go up to the third floor. They waited about two minutes for the elevator, then had to wait for some people to come out of the elevator. When everyone was out, they went in and clicked on the button to get to their destination. When they got to their floor, they walked up the hallway and found their room. They opened the door and it felt like they were opening the gates to heaven. Their hotel room looked as rich as the house of a famous person. Nicole ran into the room and jumped onto one of the four king-sized beds. They were made perfectly with blue-green blankets and pillow cases. They put all of the stuff on the ground in the kitchen area and Jamie put them all away while Kevin unpacked their clothes, and Nicole unpacked hers. They got in bed to go to sleep at about 10:00 pm. Kevin and Jamie went right to sleep but Nicole just couldn’t. She was worried that something might happen to her when she was performing. She thought to herself, what if I get sick or what if I lose my voice. She went to Jamie and woke her up because she knew that Jamie would have the perfect thing to say to her. “Jamie, I can’t sleep because I’m really worried about tomorrow,” Nicole told her.
“Don’t worry, you’re going to do perfect every time that you perform and you’re going to win the whole competition. But before you can win the whole competition you need to be confident and realize that you can do this,” Jamie explained. “Ok, thanks for the encouragement. I really needed it,” Nicole started to walk back to her bed. “No problem,” Jamie whispered because she remembered Kevin was still sleeping. Nicole went back to her bed and finally went to sleep. It was morning the next day and Nicole had to get ready for the battle rounds. She was going to go against a woman named Ashley, one of the best singers in the competition. She was much older than Nicole to, but so were all of the other contestants. Ashley was already thirty-eight years of age, and Nicole was only fourteen. They were going to sing a song called “Gotta Be You” by a band named One Direction. This song had a lot of high-pitched words, which Nicole was very good at. When they got up on stage they shook each other’s hands and then the music played. Nicole shut her eyes as the music played. When it was her time to sing she opened her eyes and sang perfectly. When the song ended she couldn’t help but grin. “So, Adam who are you going to choose to go on to the live shows,” the host said. “I’m going to have to go with Nicole,” Adam decided. Nicole couldn’t believe it, but it was actually happening. Her dreams were coming true. She went through all of the rounds being safe, and didn’t have words to explain how amazing it felt. The next day was the final round, and Nicole has been waiting for this day to sing her favorite song. She would usually sing slower songs, but this time she was going to sing a faster song. It was called “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. Nicole loved One Direction. They were her favorite band, and she could listen to them all day every day. She got onto the stage and was ready to sing at her best. She clasped the microphone into her hands and started to sweat a bit. The music started to play and she started to think of her family. I know I can do this, I have to do this. Nicole thought to herself. She started to sing, every word, every pitch, everything was perfect about her performance. When she finished everyone stood up and started to clap and shout for her. Nicole spotted Jamie and Kevin in the crowd and she could tell that they were really proud of her. Back in New York City, mom was at Benda’s house watching her on TV. When she finished her routine her she cheered and screamed. Then, she stopped for a moment. She thought to herself, maybe I was wrong…maybe she can do this. Nicole walked off stage and the other two contestants congratulated her. Nicole was the last contestant of the night. All of the contestants went back out, and the host repeated all of the numbers to call if they wanted to vote for them. When the show was over they went back to the hotel. Nicole didn’t sleep at all because tomorrow was the results. They were going to figure out who won the show and she was nervous that she wouldn’t win and all of this would be a waste of time. Was it going to be just like her mom had said? In the morning Nicole put on the nicest outfit she had and had Jamie do her hair as perfect as possible. They got in the car and went to the building. “Are you ready,” Kevin asked Nicole. “Yes,” Nicole replied. “Let’s go then,” he demanded. They walked in the door and Nicole became more and more nervous by the second. The contestants got onto the stage and the host got rid of one of the three contestants first. “The first contestant voted off and did not win the competition is….. Katie,” the host announced. Everyone gave her a hug and she exited off of the stage. “And the winner of the second season of The Voice is……… Nicole,” She couldn’t believe it. Her dreams had finally come true. She got so excited that she started to cry, but in a happy way. “How do you feel right now,” the host questioned Nicole. “I feel amazing. I want to thank my mom for letting me do this and my brother and his wife for bringing me here and sharing this journey with me. My family means the world to me and I can always count on them for support,” Nicole couldn’t take the smile off of her face. “Well, congratulations,” he said. “Thank you,” Nicole was filled with joy. She left the stage and saw Kevin, Jamie, and her mom waiting in a room for her. “I never thought you would be able to do this. I’m really sorry,” a tear fell down her mom’s face. “It’s ok. I knew I could do it and that’s all I needed,” Nicole replied. “It looks like I’m going to have to see my daughter in a new light.” her mom thought.
Can you imagine what the world would be like with no writing? It would be like a world without air for people to breathe. Nobody would be able to use their creativity. I wouldn’t know as much as I know today. I wouldn’t know about all of my writing skills that I have learned throughout my school life. There would be no such thing as an author! I know many people that want to be an author when they grow up but if there was no such thing as writing no one would even know what an author is. Being a writer allows you to use creativity and make up your own stories in your mind. Without writing the world would be totally different. There would be no such thing as movies, books, and many more.
I am very proud of all of my writing pieces from this year. Although I like all of them one of them stands out to me the most. My favorite writing piece was my fiction piece. I loved my topic, and the story touched my heart very strongly. I also learned a lot while I was creating this piece.
I have learned many skills throughout my year of being a sixth grader. While I was writing my fiction piece, Mrs. Bubalis taught me and my classmates many new skills that we haven’t learned yet. She taught us ways to create a character for your story. For example, she told us that it is easier if you create their internal and external traits. She also told us to create and describe the way that a character moves to make the story more interesting. She told us to write a very detailed setting and use sentence variety. Mrs. B explained to us that for sentence variety you can replace said with stronger words, use sentences that start with an –ing word, and many others. She taught us that one of the most important things for a fantastic piece is to make sure that you edit and revise your writing. She also gave us a new way to plan out our stories. They are called story maps. It includes the information that will be in your story. For instance, it included your character’s hopes, wants, or desires, an obstacle that was standing in their way from following their dreams, to build the story problem by problem, a climax, and a resolution to end the story. I also learned from her that it is good to have a lot of conversation in your writing piece. Another skill that I learned during sixth grade is to write from small moment to small moment. Mrs. B calls this writing a “small seed” instead of a “big watermelon story”.
Mrs. Bubalis was an amazing teacher. She taught me many things that I will never forget. I am also lucky to have learned all of this information from her because it will be helpful to know for my first year of being out of elementary school. I truthfully think that I am a great writer and I love to write. I plan to be writing stories throughout my school life and after also.
Here is my favorite project that I did in language arts this year....
By: Melanie Ward
“Mom, Tommy is annoying me again!” Nicole yelled from her bedroom.
“Tommy, stop annoying your sister!” she screamed back.
Nicole was only fourteen years old and the second oldest out of ten children in her family. She has six brothers and three sisters. Her sisters, Lilly and Brooke, are twins and they are both six years old. Her other sister is named Ashley and she is eight years old. Her brother Jack is three, Evan is five, Tommy is nine, Jake is ten, Peter is twelve, and Kevin is already twenty-one, and married. They all lived in a very small house in New York City and were struggling financially. Since Kevin was married he lived in his own house with his wife and their baby daughter, just up the road from them. Because they have a descent amount of money, they try to help out as the family as much as they can.
Running quickly up to her bedroom to get ready for the day, Nicole’s hair flew back exposing her beautiful face. She shut and locked her purple decorated door and walked into the room. She loved the feeling of her fluffy carpet on her feet and the joy of the room. Her room had bright lime green walls covered in pictures of her with her friends. Although Nicole was popular in school, no one knew what she was going through, and she was afraid of telling them because it embarrassed her. She loved to go to school because when she was hanging out with her friends all of her troubles went away, her mind got cleared, and she felt like she was living a perfect life. She went to her closet and took out a pair of skinny-jeans that were ripped on each knee, and a blue t-shirt. She threw on a pair of blue and pink polka-dotted socks, then a pair of old zebra sneakers. Then Nicole unlocked, and opened the door, then ran into the kitchen for some breakfast. She grabbed some cereal out of one of the kitchen cabinets, and a bowl to put the cereal in. She walked over to the fridge and grabbed a carton of milk and poured it into the bowl until it was halfway filled. Nicole then put some of the cereal in and realized she needed a spoon. They needed to use plastic utensils for eating because they couldn’t afford any others. She took a plastic spoon out of the bag and started eating. She ate quickly because she wanted to visit Kevin’s house. Nicole didn’t finish all of her cereal but she ate enough so that she didn’t waste any of the food. Nicole dropped the bowl into the sink, and went back to getting ready. Walking into the bathroom, she grabbed her toothbrush and threw some toothpaste on it. Nicole thoroughly brushed her teeth until they were squeaky clean. Nicole then walked out of the bathroom and back to her bedroom, and grabbed a brush from a basket on her floor with all of her hair supplies. She brushed her long, curly brown hair until it was perfect. When she was all ready she ran out the door without a goodbye.
It only took about five minutes to get to Kevin’s house. As she walked to his house on the sidewalks, she loved to look at the bright lights on the buildings and signs. They made her happier, because they reminded her of “bright” futures. When she finally arrived at Kevin’s house she ran up the steps to his door, and barged in without a knock. His house was always perfectly clean because his wife, Jamie was now a stay at home mom. Their baby girl, Amy, was only three months old. Since she was so young she would mostly sleep, which gave Jamie lots of time to get stuff done around the house. Kevin was a doctor, which meant he got paid lots of money. This is how they helped Nicole’s family and had enough money for themselves also.
“Where’s Kevin,” Nicole asked Jamie as she looked around the house.
“He went to the store to pick up some groceries,” Jamie replied.
“Oh, okay.” Nicole said.
“Why do you need him?” Jamie questioned.
“I need to tell him something really important,” Nicole answered.
“Alright,” Jamie said.
Jamie was a very nice woman with straight brown hair that sat perfectly on her shoulders. Kevin finally got home from the store with tons of bags in his hands. He walked into the kitchen and put the bags on the counter. Jamie walked into the kitchen and put everything away. When he walked out of the kitchen the first thing he saw was Nicole with a worried look on her face. It scared him. His heart drooped and a drip of sweat poured down his face. He was worried that something bad had happened to someone in the family or someone that he was very close to.
“What’s wrong,” Kevin asked her.
“I need you to get me somewhere, a place where dreams come true. Somewhere I’ve never been before, somewhere I should’ve already gone to. The problem is that I’m not allowed to be there even though I need to be there,” Nicole told him very quietly.
“What are you talking about Nicole,” He got so frightened that he started to yell.
“I want….I need to win The Voice! It will save our family, and I know I can do it. It will prove to mom that it isn’t a waste of time and I can follow my dreams,” She started to cry a bit but held it in as much as she could. “Alright, I’ll help you,” Kevin gave her a big hug.
Nicole’s mom always knew that she was an amazing singer. She was afraid to tell her because she thought it was a waste of time. She figured she would never be able to compete against adults with matured voices, and thought that Nicole wasn’t ready. Her mom knew she couldn’t win……..or at least that’s what she thought. Nicole practiced singing everyday just so that she could achieve her goals, and so that her dreams would come true. She practiced old songs, new song, songs with high pitches, and songs with low pitches. She could sing anything perfectly. “Jamie,” Kevin yelled as his voice cracked a bit.
“What,” she called back with her sweet voice that sounded like a graceful, singing bird.
“We’re going on a road trip! We are going to take Nicole to Hollywood so she can audition for The Voice,” he shouted with excitement.
“Really, that is so exciting. I know that you’re going to do great, and you’re such an amazing singer. You’re going to be a star, and I know it,” Jamie told her with a smile as bright as the sun.
Jamie and Kevin packed their bags with everything they would need for the trip. They packed clothes, food, drinks, toothbrushes, and toothpaste.
“Alright, we’re done packing. Now let’s go to Hollywood,” Kevin said.
“Wait, what about me? I still need to pack stuff for myself,” Nicole stammered.
“Oh yea, I’ll drop you off at home really quickly and we’ll wait in the car. Jamie can go get the baby and we’ll drop her off at the neighbor’s house. Just call them up real quick, and we will be ready to go,” Kevin suggested.
“Okay, thanks,” Nicole started to get more and more excited.
She slowly opened the door and waited for them to get their bags. She held the door open for them and waited until they were a little bit past the door. She quickly closed the door, ready to go and sing. They put their bags in the trunk of their perfectly cleaned silver car with leather seats inside. Kevin sat in the driver’s seat, Jamie sat in the passenger side, and Nicole sat in the back of the car next to the baby. They drove a little bit, and then Jamie got out of the car to get the baby out of the car. She took Taylor out of her car seat, and brought her inside. She handed the baby over to the nice lady in the house and some baby food for her. Jamie came back outside and got back into the car. They drove to Nicole’s house to pick up her stuff. They pulled over on the opposite side of the road so it would be harder for her mom to see them. Nicole hopped out of the car, looked both ways, and crossed the street. She ran straight up the stairs, opened the door, and strolled through the house and into her room. She crept over to her closet and took out an enormous duffle bag. She took all of her clothes out of her closet and drawers, because she didn’t know how long she would be gone. She stuffed all of the clothes into her bag, and then ran into the bathroom. She took her toothbrush and some toothpaste, and then went back into her room to pack it into her bag. Nicole grabbed her hairbrush and put it in the side pocket of the bag.
Nicole decided to write a letter to her mom so that she wouldn’t get too worried about her. She tore a piece of paper out of a notebook, and got a pen from her desk. She wrote………..
“Dear mom,
I’m going to be gone for a while. Kevin and Jamie will be with me so don’t worry. They’re going to take me to Hollywood so that I can audition for The Voice…since you won’t. Just remember not to be concerned about me, because Jamie and Kevin will take good care of me.
Love,
Nicole”
Tears started to fall down her face as she was writing and she tried to hold it, but she just couldn’t.
She threw her bag over her shoulder, ran out the door, and jumped into the car.
“You ready sis?” Kevin asked her.
‘I think so? I’m so excited, and I knew that this day would come eventually, but I just didn’t know that it would come so soon,” Nicole started bouncing up and down in her seat with a big grin on her face.
“Alright, let’s go then,” everyone became more and more excited.
They drove out of New York City slowly so that they could say good-bye to their dwelling. On their way to Hollywood they got to see things that they couldn’t see in New York. They were surprised to see vast backyards with tons of grass and trees. There weren’t heaps of taxicabs rushing down the street, or garbage thrown all over the place. Nicole wished that she could live in a place like this, and not in the city. She loved how everyone was so caring and families didn’t have to be so cautious about their children.
On their way they took a couple of stops at places such as Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts for a quick snack or bathroom break.
They were almost there and could see the building with the hand making a peace sign while holding a microphone. Nicole could just imagine in her head singing on that stage while seeing Christina, Blake, Cee-lo, and Adam turning their chairs around for her. She already knew who she wanted as a coach. She wanted Adam to be the first to turn his chair and she would pick him in a heart-beat.
They finally arrived and there was a huge line to enter. At last, it was time for her to sign up and go inside. When she got in the building she saw lights all over and the carpet was red and black to match the furniture.
Nicole was up next and was waiting outside the door back-stage. Jamie and Kevin were in another room with TVs to watch her perform. Once it was time for her to go and she began to get anxious. One of the people on the camera crew handed her a microphone, opened the door, and told her that it was time for her to go.
“Good luck.” the lady said.
“Thanks.” this made Nicole just a little less nervous.
She walked out onto the stage, and saw the backs of the chairs. The music started, and a smile grew on Nicole’s face. She sang beautifully, with the perfect pitches. First Cee-lo turned his chair, and Nicole began to chuckle because of his funny sunglasses. Then Christina turned her chair, with her gorgeous blonde hair, striking outfit, and stunning shoes. Next, Blake turned his chair, and he seemed confused at why Adam didn’t turn his chair. Nicole got a bit sad when Adam was the only one that didn’t have their chair turned. She held out her last note of the song for as long as she could, hoping it would allow Adam to have more time to think about turning his chair or not. Just before he finished, her pressed his button and turned his chair. She looked over at him and saw his face with a big smirk on it. She got so excited, and when she finished everyone stood up and started clapping for her.
“Wow!” Blake screamed with enthusiasm. “You’re an amazing singer!”
“Thanks,” Nicole began to laugh with pleasure.
“Yeah you are really good and especially for a girl at such a young age.” Christina thought.
“Yeah my little sweet cheeks, how old are you my little super-star,” Cee-lo couldn’t take the smile off of his face.
“I’m fourteen years old.” Nicole told them.
“Oh man! The show is over, because we already have a winner.” Adam couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of him.
“Oh Adam, don’t try to sweeten her up with your little tricks,” Blake seemed like he was getting scared that she was going to pick Adam.
“No, I’m serious. I mean, just look at her. She sang with perfect pitches, she rocked the stage, and she pumped up the crowd. She’s already a star.” Adam said in a satisfied voice.
“Alright guys, stop fighting, who are you going to pick as your coach sweetie,” Christina got annoyed at the other judges.
“Well, first I want to say thank you for turning all of your chairs, and giving me the opportunity to do this. I never knew that I was that good of a singer, but I’m going to have to go with Adam.”
“Yes!” Adam screamed with thrill.
Adam walked up onto the stage and hugged Nicole.
“Thank you so much for picking me, you definitely won’t regret it.” Adam explained to her.
“Ok,” She said with exhilaration.
She walked off stage, and when she opened the door, the first thing she saw was Jamie and Kevin. They had big smiles on their faces and were crying with tears of joy.
“I knew you could do it Nicole.” Kevin explained to her.
“Yeah, we had total faith in you.” Jamie told her.
“I know, but I’m just so happy that I can’t even think. There’s still just one little problem though.” Nicole said to Kevin.
“What is it?” Kevin questioned.
“How are we going to break the news to mom?” Nicole asked him.
“I have no idea, but no matter what, I know she’ll be proud of you,” Kevin replied.
“Thanks,” Nicole gave him a hug.
While Nicole was hugging Kevin, his phone started to ring. Who could that be, Nicole thought to herself. Nicole walked slowly away from Kevin as he took his phone out of his pocket. He looked at his phone to see who was calling him.
“Its mom,” Kevin got a bit nervous.
“Well answer it and see what she says,” Nicole yelled at him.
“Hello,” he said with a crack in his anxious voice.
“Hi. I’m at my friend, Brenda’s house right now and we were watching The Voice because it’s her favorite show. I also saw the note before I left, but I thought that that was just a joke. Tell Nicole that I’m not mad at her at all, and that I’m really proud of her. Just make sure that you and Jamie take good care of her, and help her practice every day. You did a pretty good job Kevin, I raised a good family.” Nicole’s mom said with a soft tone to her voice.
“What did she say? Is she mad or is she proud?” Nicole shouted.
“She wanted me to tell you that she isn’t mad one bit and she’s really proud of you. You did a good job sis.” Kevin had a smile on his face and just couldn’t get it off.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe it, mom is actually proud of me! I could’ve sworn she was going to ground me and make me drop out of the show. Thanks Kevin and Jamie, you guys just changed my whole life but in a good way.” Nicole gave them both a big hug.
“No problem, now let’s go find a hotel for us to stay in.” Jamie said as they all went to leave.
They all got in the car, and Jamie took her laptop out to look for hotels that were in their area. There was so many to choose from, but since Nicole just won they wanted to pick the one that she would like the most. They finally agreed on one with a big indoor pool and hot tub for them to relax in. The hotel was only about five minutes away from The Voice building. This was a good advantage to where they were living at on this amazing journey. They pulled into the parking lot of the hotel, got out of the car, and took all of their stuff out of the trunk of the car. Nicole had one big bag with all of her clothes and supplies, but Jamie and Kevin had about three bags each. This was because they had to take all of the food, soap, extra toothpaste, and much more. They went into the hotel and checked into one of the rooms, they had room number seventy-five, on the third floor. They each got their own key to the room, and walked through a hallway to the elevator. They hit the arrow pointing upward because they needed to go up to the third floor. They waited about two minutes for the elevator, then had to wait for some people to come out of the elevator. When everyone was out, they went in and clicked on the button to get to their destination. When they got to their floor, they walked up the hallway and found their room. They opened the door and it felt like they were opening the gates to heaven. Their hotel room looked as rich as the house of a famous person. Nicole ran into the room and jumped onto one of the four king-sized beds. They were made perfectly with blue-green blankets and pillow cases. They put all of the stuff on the ground in the kitchen area and Jamie put them all away while Kevin unpacked their clothes, and Nicole unpacked hers. They got in bed to go to sleep at about 10:00 pm. Kevin and Jamie went right to sleep but Nicole just couldn’t. She was worried that something might happen to her when she was performing. She thought to herself, what if I get sick or what if I lose my voice. She went to Jamie and woke her up because she knew that Jamie would have the perfect thing to say to her.
“Jamie, I can’t sleep because I’m really worried about tomorrow,” Nicole told her.
“Don’t worry, you’re going to do perfect every time that you perform and you’re going to win the whole competition. But before you can win the whole competition you need to be confident and realize that you can do this,” Jamie explained.
“Ok, thanks for the encouragement. I really needed it,” Nicole started to walk back to her bed.
“No problem,” Jamie whispered because she remembered Kevin was still sleeping.
Nicole went back to her bed and finally went to sleep. It was morning the next day and Nicole had to get ready for the battle rounds. She was going to go against a woman named Ashley, one of the best singers in the competition. She was much older than Nicole to, but so were all of the other contestants. Ashley was already thirty-eight years of age, and Nicole was only fourteen. They were going to sing a song called “Gotta Be You” by a band named One Direction. This song had a lot of high-pitched words, which Nicole was very good at. When they got up on stage they shook each other’s hands and then the music played. Nicole shut her eyes as the music played. When it was her time to sing she opened her eyes and sang perfectly. When the song ended she couldn’t help but grin.
“So, Adam who are you going to choose to go on to the live shows,” the host said.
“I’m going to have to go with Nicole,” Adam decided.
Nicole couldn’t believe it, but it was actually happening. Her dreams were coming true. She went through all of the rounds being safe, and didn’t have words to explain how amazing it felt.
The next day was the final round, and Nicole has been waiting for this day to sing her favorite song. She would usually sing slower songs, but this time she was going to sing a faster song. It was called “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction. Nicole loved One Direction. They were her favorite band, and she could listen to them all day every day. She got onto the stage and was ready to sing at her best. She clasped the microphone into her hands and started to sweat a bit. The music started to play and she started to think of her family. I know I can do this, I have to do this. Nicole thought to herself. She started to sing, every word, every pitch, everything was perfect about her performance. When she finished everyone stood up and started to clap and shout for her. Nicole spotted Jamie and Kevin in the crowd and she could tell that they were really proud of her. Back in New York City, mom was at Benda’s house watching her on TV. When she finished her routine her she cheered and screamed. Then, she stopped for a moment. She thought to herself, maybe I was wrong…maybe she can do this. Nicole walked off stage and the other two contestants congratulated her.
Nicole was the last contestant of the night. All of the contestants went back out, and the host repeated all of the numbers to call if they wanted to vote for them. When the show was over they went back to the hotel. Nicole didn’t sleep at all because tomorrow was the results. They were going to figure out who won the show and she was nervous that she wouldn’t win and all of this would be a waste of time. Was it going to be just like her mom had said? In the morning Nicole put on the nicest outfit she had and had Jamie do her hair as perfect as possible. They got in the car and went to the building.
“Are you ready,” Kevin asked Nicole.
“Yes,” Nicole replied.
“Let’s go then,” he demanded.
They walked in the door and Nicole became more and more nervous by the second. The contestants got onto the stage and the host got rid of one of the three contestants first.
“The first contestant voted off and did not win the competition is….. Katie,” the host announced.
Everyone gave her a hug and she exited off of the stage.
“And the winner of the second season of The Voice is……… Nicole,”
She couldn’t believe it. Her dreams had finally come true. She got so excited that she started to cry, but in a happy way.
“How do you feel right now,” the host questioned Nicole.
“I feel amazing. I want to thank my mom for letting me do this and my brother and his wife for bringing me here and sharing this journey with me. My family means the world to me and I can always count on them for support,” Nicole couldn’t take the smile off of her face.
“Well, congratulations,” he said.
“Thank you,” Nicole was filled with joy.
She left the stage and saw Kevin, Jamie, and her mom waiting in a room for her.
“I never thought you would be able to do this. I’m really sorry,” a tear fell down her mom’s face.
“It’s ok. I knew I could do it and that’s all I needed,” Nicole replied.
“It looks like I’m going to have to see my daughter in a new light.” her mom thought.
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